The Project
by Lit Bitch
Summary: A school project is going to change Otogi's life for a while, for better or worse. Includes copious amounts awkward situations, people gifted with insanity, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Indifferent!Otogi, Insane!Ryou, and Snarky!Malik.
1. Chapter 1

**Narrated by: Otogi Ryuji (Otherwise known as the very sexy Duke Devlin)**

**_I DO NOT OWN THE MANGA/ANIME THAT IS KNOWN BY THE NAME OF yU-gI-oH!_**

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History class. Top floor. Broken heater. Bipolar teacher. fifty degrees. The pit of all that is evil and unjust. Can I be anywhere but here? Yeah, I'm completely bored out of my mind and my music playing device is dying. Sooner or later the damned thing is just going to die and I'll have to actually listen to this rambling teacher. Clearly this woman needs to get laid. I wouldn't bang her. Her face is kind of oily and she spends way too much of her time talking.

It's been five minutes and yes my music player just died. I guess I'll just slip off these headphones and say 'hello' to history class for the first time this semester. Maybe I'll have to learn something. The teacher seems to be talking about some sort of project. Oh, flap. Then there was something about partners? I'm not for sure, but I thought I heard something about partners. I desperately need partners. Partners equal less work. Less work equals a happy Ryuji-san. Yep, the teacher definitely said partners. Three people to a group. Decided by random draw out of a hat. This has to be a pretty sweet deal. My history class had a whopping fifteen kids in it. The odds of me actually getting someone I like is pretty high. Score.

Okay, so Yuugi is with Anzu and Miho. Yuugi's lucky he gets to work with two chicks. Too bad the sucker's too shy to try anything. Sigh. Jou is with Kaiba and some other chick. Heh. Kaiba and Jou don't like each other. Heh. It's kinda funny. Ooh. She drew my name. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for that blonde chick that sits across the room.

Bleh. I'm stuck with the two loonies. I'm not sure if I'm going to survive this experience. Probably not. I mean, Ryou's okay, I guess. He puts his shirts on inside-out and he talks to himself a lot. I can't really say anything about Malik, since I haven't known him for that long. I guess I can't call him evil anymore, since apparently he's not. Yeah, I have no idea what to think of him. One day, he just showed up at school. Weird. He was all like, "Oh yeah, about Battle City, yeah, that was just like a mistake. Just forget it ever happened."

So what's this? We group up today in class to get started. Score. They can't kill me with so many witnesses. I do my happy dance. I walk over to where my partners are sitting. They're talking about something. I hope it isn't going to be awkward. It's going to be awkward.

I approach the table. Dun. Dun. Dun.

Ryou whispers, "Hey, Malik. Do you have any gum?"

"No. Ask Otogi." replies Malik.

I am standing there listening to this, when I hear the weirdest thing since ever.

"No, Malik," whispers Ryou in a desperate sort of way, "I can't. It's not possible for me to do that!"

Things just got confusing. For me, anyway.

"Fine," replies Malik with a shrug of the shoulders. He then proceeds to look at me and ask, "Otogi-kun, do you happen to have a piece of gum?"

I nod silently. I don't want to say the wrong thing, I really don't. I hand Malik the piece of gum. Malik gives the gum to Ryou. Ryou sticks the gum in his mouth. This process could have been way shortened. I sit down. Malik is staring at me. It's like that kind of stare that pretty much confirms that the person staring at you is going to kill you. Okay, second weird thing to happen. Ryou has his eyes closed and he is chewing his gum. Not as weird as Malik staring at me. I focus my attention on Malik.

"What do you want to do our project on?" I ask.

Surprisingly, or shockingly, whatever, both Malik and Ryou respond at the same time, saying the same thing. They say simultaneously, "The fourth wall."

This is the beginning of a long flapping group project-thing.

* * *

**So what if the Pride and Prejudice fic that I am doing is just sitting there? I am inspired! (By Otogi?) lolz. Yeah, Otogi is going to be playing the narrator. Kinda like a mix of 'Nick Caraway' from _Great Gatsby_ and 'Narrator' from _Fight Club_. Is there anything definitive about Duke's personality besides that fact that he is supposedly good-looking? I don't know. I'm giving him a twist. I'm making him observant and sarcastic and awkward but in that natural teenish way. YESH. I am also making Malik and Ryou FUCKING PsyCHO, but they kinda already were a bit crazy weren't they? :)**

**I'm all jacked up on READs and REVIEWs!**


	2. Chapter 2

You have got to be flapping kidding me. My phone is ringing. I don't know the number. Should I answer? It could be a like a wrong number. Then there's this awkward moment when you tell the person they have the wrong number. Pshh. I'm answering it.

"Otogi-kun?" Oh flap, it's Malik.

"Yeah, it's me. Did you need something?"

"We have a project to do." Oh, god. He's patronizing me. I hate that.

"I am aware." I don't mean to sound like a total dick, but I do anyway.

"...I was just wondering if you want to come over to my house after school to get started. Ryou practically lives at my house, so we just need your _confirmation_."

Parished silence. Beep. "Sure. tomorrow after school?"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Malik is gushing. "I can't wait!"

"yeah. Bye." I hang up. Too weird for words. This is my last day of sanity, isn't it?

* * *

School passed by uncommonly fast, in my opinion. Now I'm standing by the back wall. Why the back wall? I don't really know... I'm now walking to where I should be: the front gate. My thoughts drift to the sort of expected. I wonder what kind of environment Malik lives in. I'm guessing he still lives with his siblings, bald guy and hot chick. Okay, thinking mode is now turned off. I'm at the front gate.

Where are those two goobers? I have literally been leaning against this pillar for ten minutes. Where are they? You know what? I'm leaving. They can do the thing without me. Oh, flap that's them. I see Malik with a stern look on his face, dragging Ryou forcefully behind him. Ryou doesn't look like he knows where he is, at all. By just looking at his face, I can tell he thinks he's in Narnia. Malik on the other hand, looks like he just walked straight through hell. His hair is all frizzy and he's sweaty. Did I mention his facial expression? It's the death look, again. He stops in front of me. He's still holding onto Ryou's arm.

"I thought you guys weren't going to show up for a second," I try to sound as nice as possible, because Malik is scaring me with his death look. I don't want to die. Simple?

"Sorry,_ Otogi_. We didn't mean to keep you waiting, honestly." He sounds pissed off and sarcastic. I am totally making this situation worse. Time to become extremely concerned and understanding.

I splash some sympathy on my face and ask, "What's wrong?"

Malik sighs and jerks Ryou forward, so he is standing evenly with Malik, instead of a few steps behind. "This little bugger," Malik begins, as he gestures towards Ryou with his free hand, "decided to wonder off before 7th period and go into his soul room for about an hour, leaving his body unattended and prone to harm! It took me forever to find him and only Ra knows what him and his 'other' were doing for so long in there." Did I mention that I hate this whole 'hikari-yami' crap? I really do. It doesn't make any sense. It messes with my brain.

Malik looks at Ryou and notices his blank facial expression and immediately begins shouting Ryou's name and snapping his fingers in Ryou's face. Ryou eventually comes back to the world of the living after a couple of minutes and murmurs guiltily a quick, "Sorry."

Malik sighs. I just realized that Malik sighs a lot. "Shall we get going?" he asks with a forced smile on his still sweaty face. I simply nod. We start walking, Malik still holding Ryou's hand and I following them a few paces behind. It's complete silence for almost five minutes. It's a really awkward silence, too.

"Hey, Malik, guess what I saw today," says Ryou, breaking that awful silence. I'm kind of disappointed that I'm not supposed to be included in the conversation, but I'm going to listen in on it anyway. It's what I would have wanted.

"What?" Malik seems to have relaxed, thank god. He seems genuinely interested in what Ryou saw. I'm interested too, sort of.

Ryou puts his hand up next to his mouth in the secret-telling motion and says in a quieter than normal voice, "During lunch, I saw Anzu making out with the Pharaoh in the girl's bathroom."

Malik starts laughing uncontrollably, so much that it almost seems unhealthy, maybe even evil. These are the times when I wonder if Malik is truly reformed from his dastardly ways. Then there is what Ryou said. Anzu and the Pharaoh? I wonder if Yuugi know what the Pharaoh is doing with his body... Wait a second!

"What were you doing in the girl's bathroom, Ryou?" I ask this, greatly amused.

"I don't know," utters Ryou. Why does this kid act so cryptically insane? I glance at Malik and he just shrugs nonchalantly with a small grin on his face.

I'm starting to enjoy these conversations. They're so deep.

* * *

**I love this fic. I don't care if only like 8 people have even viewed it and I have no reviews or follows or favorites for it. I just really enjoy writing this for some reason. Like my other fics just aren't as fun to write. Pride and Prejudice seems like a chore and bloody stereotypes makes me want to rip my hair out because I can't get any ideas, but this fic just breaths and I love it for that. **

**Reads? Reviews? Does anyone even care? lolz**


	3. Chapter 3

**I usually hate it when people do this, so I feel shameful to do it, myself. Oh, well.**

**_Italics_= Ancient Egyptian/Arabic...does it really matter?**

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Coincidentally, Mailk's house is only 15 minutes from the school. Right in front of me stands presumably, his house. It's big and brown. The house looks to be about two stories, making the other houses around it look like the babies of Malik's house. I bet they call it 'big brown daddy' or something. It's scattered with small windows with brown shutters lining each one. This house is extremely brown. There's no other color on it, I swear! The house also has an extremely high fence that makes me feel slightly suspicious of what is going on inside. No one buys fences that high, unless they are hiding something. Malik's probably been making bombs or some shit. There are also some freakishly high willow trees shading the property. I look at Malik in a certain way and he smiles bashfully. I guess he's kind of embarrassed because he lives in a house that looks like a satanic gingerbread cookie structure. I would be embarrassed if I lived in a place like that, too.

"Well, let's just not stand here like fools," huffs Malik. He then proceeds to open the door, allowing Ryou and myself inside before he comes in and slams the door behind him. Immediately, I am confronted with someone shrieking in a foreign language I do not understand.

"_Malik! Do not slam the door! I was trying to concentrate on some translations!"_

Malik answers back in an extremely pissy way, hand on his hip, head cocked to the side. It almost makes me want to laugh. _"Sorry, sis, but I have company, and I'm probably not the only one who thinks you're acting like a total bitch right now!"_

"_I'm sure Ryou is used to me yelling! And stop saying mean things about me! It hurts my feelings!"_ The shouting is getting really annoying at this point, especially since I have no idea what they are saying. I cover my ears, so I don't have to listen to this shit any longer.

"_Yeah, okay, sorry for calling you a bitch! My other guest might not be used to your yelling, though!" _Whatever Malik said seems to have caused the yelling to stop. I cautiously uncover my ears. Suddenly, the moment of peace is taken away after I start hearing bustling from upstairs and a loud thonk, before I see a streak of black hair as it rushes down the stairs.

presumably, this would be Malik's sister, whose name I believe is Ishizu. I wonder if she's still as hot as she was during that blimp ride last year...

She waves amiably in our general direction, not really looking at us. She's still is hot, which is awesome. Ishizu then proceeds to leave the room and go into another room. I'm guessing the kitchen because there's one of those decorative signs on the door that says 'kitchen.' I could be wrong, though. Who am I kidding? I know it's a kitchen.

There could be many different reasons for her going into the kitchen, but I'm hoping she's one of _those_ types of people. You know, the ones that always make food when guests are in the house. I'm cool with that.

While I'm waiting to be fed by Malik's hot sister, I look around at the interior design of the place. I've always been a fan of HGTV, so that should explain everything for you.

I look around me and what I see is terrifying. EVERYTHING IS SO BROWN! I want to either puke or die, right now. Why is this whole house brown? The couch is brown, the floor is brown hard-wood, the walls and ceiling are variations of the same flapping color. The color that has swallowed my soul. I start clawing at my eyes, anything to get the color out of my sight! I let out a piercing scream to add to my dramatic display of dislike. I start hearing a layer of giggling added to the sound cake. It must be Ryou. What a jerk.

I continue on with my screaming, yeah I could live out the rest of my years this way. Then, Malik's yelling at me and Ryou's still giggling and all of a sudden...FWACK! Thank you, Malik, I needed that.

I open my eyes and I see Malik before me, hand raised to go again, if needed. I flinch and mutter a quick, "Thanks." He just nods and gestures for me to sit down on the brown (it's going to be okay, Ryuji) leather couch. I sit next to Ryou, who looks like he is stifling giggles. I stick my tongue out at him and this sends him over the edge into a sea of laughter. Yeah, I'm just that hilarious. I can't help it. I smile. You know what they say. If you can't laugh at yourself...blah, blah, blah.

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**You know what I just realized? This whole chapter basically is about Otogi's fear of the color brown...and that's it. I mean honestly how lame can I get? lol Anyway, things will start happening soon. Heh. Heh. Heh. I wouldn't get too excited, but at least I know where the story is going!**

**_Guess what I want you to do now that you've read this piece of shit? :)_  
**


	4. Chapter 4

Malik's sister (I keep forgetting to call her by her name) finally emerges from the kitchen. Yes! She has sandwiches on a plate! I bet you ten bucks those things are for us. Ishizu (see I remembered this time) is the best person ever and I think I'm in love.

She sets the sandwiches down on the coffee table and then proceeds to take a step back. Her arms are crossed and she has a death-look on her face almost identical to Malik's. I guess these people inherited the same glaring techniques. Genetics are a wonderful thing, don't you think?

"Who is this person, Malik?" Ishizu seems a bit pissed that I'm here. Huh. She points a finger at me and I look to the left of me. Ryou's eating a sandwich. I look to the right of me. Malik is having a staring contest with his sister. Ishizu's face is all like 'accusatory glare' and Malik's face reads a full on 'you're stupid.'

"Don't you remember Otogi-kun, Ishizu?" Malik asks. His dead-pan voice and patronizing stature make me think that a 'duh' moment is about to occur, but instead Ishizu has this confused look on her face. Malik elaborates by saying, "He was on the blimp. I mean, he wasn't important or anything, but he was like cheering on Yuugi or something," He looks at me, flashing a grin and continues with, "You weren't completely useless were you?" Dammit! He got me. All I can do is glare at him. I will come up with a come-back for this situation later tonight, when I'm on the brink of sleep. Then he will be sorry!

I'm guessing Ishizu was on _fucking crystal meth_ during last year's blimp ride, because she just sighs and shakes her head. Could this get any more annoyingly awkard-ish? I stand up and just introduce myself, hopefully, this will resolve Ishizu's strange anger-filled memory relapse.

"Hi, I'm Otogi Ryuji. It's nice to meet you, Ishizu-san." I extend my hand for her to shake. I wonder if this custom is too casual. Should I go all traditional and bow, instead?

She takes my hand into her's, which is a relief, because I thought she wasn't going to take it, for a second. She then looks me straight in the eye and with the most menacing voice I have ever heard she says, "I welcome you into my home and offer you my hospitality." It sounds like a death threat and I am slightly shocked that she wasn't charmed by my good looks. Oh, well. She finally loosens the surprisingly firm grip she had on my hand and then just randomly walks away. She walks up the stairs like a silent robot, her knees forming practically perfect right angles when she lifts them. That was freaky.

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**INSERT THE ISHIZU CAMEO! Yeah, she doesn't play an important part in the plot at all. (There's a plot to this?) Apparently, so. It just hasn't really been established yet. I know the chapters are short, but they are meant to be like that. I CAN write long chapters, but for this story, I quite like the shortness. It adds to the slice-of-life feel that I am going for. (I think.) Anyway thank you for the reviews and the une follow and une favorite that I have received! (YOu know who you are, you awesome individuals.) Anyway, I hope none of you find this terrrible or cliché. Please, let me know if I'm doing an alright job and give me some pointers if you feel I need to improve on something!**


	5. Chapter 5

Finally, Ishizu's steps seem to fade into nothing. I breath a sigh. Ishizu is not the woman who I thought she was. I mean, she's still sexy as hell, but she hates me, now. What a shocking turn of events. You can't love something that doesn't love you back. At least that's what my third grade teacher Ondaki-sensei had told me. And to think, Ishizu and me could have been soul mates! Well, her and her food maybe...

"Otogi-kun?" whispers a soft voice. I turn my head left. Ah, Ryou. I nod my head. He continues, "I was wondering if you were going to eat your sandwich, Otogi-kun. Bakura-sama really enjoys peanut butter and I'm sure he would enjoy seconds very much." I squint my eyes at him, not sure if I'm understanding him correctly. _Bakura-sama__?_ Oh, the 'other.' Now, I understand.

I glance at the platter of sandwiches that Ishizu made. A few minutes ago, it had been full. Now, only one sandwich remained. I pick the lone sandwich up by the corner and give it a good sniff. Eww...grape jelly.

"Sure, Ryou-kun, go ahead." I flippantly toss him the sandwich, which he catches clumsily with both hands. I watch him as he takes a huge 'nom-nom' bite. Is it just me or does he have a maniacal gleam in his eyes?

"So what are we going to do our project on?" I ask, tentatively. Hoping for a different answer than 'The Fourth Wall.'

"Haven't we already discussed this, Otogi-kun? Are you becoming senile or something?" Ugh. Malik is teasing me. I wish I was seven, so I could tattle on him. I glare, instead. He doesn't even register it. Jerk.

Malik's asking for a smack-down.

"Isn't this supposed to be, I don't know, a history project?!" I exclaim, completely frustrated. I glance back over at Ryou, with a pleading look in my eyes. I desperately want Ryou to be a force of reason in this argument. Just so I can prove my obvious superiority against Malik. Ryou just blinks at me, still munching on his sandwich.

"Well?" I exasperatingly look at him, my mouth wide open. How long does it take for this kid to chew? FINALLY, he swallows and opens his mouth slowly. His eyes are looking up and he has a look on his face that _suggests_ that he is thinking deeply. I don't really know if he truly is thinking deeply, so I'll leave that up to interpretation.

After a period of time that feels like eons, Ryou looks at me and in his soft, whispery voice, he asks, "Why does it matter to you, Otogi-kun? I see you in class and you always have your headphones on. I would think the topic of our History project would mean little to you..."

Holy shit. He has a good point. What does this flapping project matter to me? I'm supposed to be the cool dude. The guy that never gets worked up about anything. Smooth. That's what the ladies love! And here I am, worrying about a project? My coolness meter is dropping. I guess I'll just blame it on Malik and call it a day.

"Psh...It doesn't matter to me what we do the project on. The Fourth Wall just sounds like a strange topic to do a history project on..." Maybe this little speech will save the remaining coolness I have. Or maybe not, since Malik is now snickering at me. Bleh, I feel like I'm being bullied right now. Malik is such a meanie. I want to strangle him, so much.

"Actually, it was Ryou's idea to do the project on The Fourth Wall. I thought it was a good idea, so I went along with it," explains Malik. So, it was Ryou's idea? Interesting? Not really. I shall pretend to be intrigued, anyway. I like Ryou, so I don't feel the need to be a douche like I am with Malik.

"Why did you want to do the project on The Fourth Wall, Ryou?" Jeez, when I pretend to be a caring person I sound like a shrink.

Ryou has a lost look on his face when I ask him this question. He then looks down and shakes his head as he whispers, "I don't know." Flap, it's like I asked him why he killed someone. Brighten up the mood, brighten up the mood!

"Aw, come on, Ryou you can tell me!" I have this fake smile on my face, so hopefully that will make things better. Instead he looks up with tears in his eyes? What?! Why is he crying?

I Look frantically at Malik. Malik can do something about this, maybe? Malik, who previously seemed to be in his own world, notices my stare and assesses the situation.

"What happened here?" says Malik in a concerned, but light voice. As though he was coming across a good-natured prank and not a crying person.

"Ryou, do you need a break?" asks Malik in the same voice. Ryou silently nods his head, his hands covering his face. Ryou gets up and walks down the hallway to the right. I hear a door open and then close. I go ahead and start to stand up.

"Don't bother," Malik says and I hesitantly sit back down. Malik is probably pissed at me.

"I didn't say anything, I swear. I don't really know what happened. One minute he was fine and then the next..."

"Yeah, I know how it is. It happens to him, sometimes. He'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

I look at him, quizzically. He looks back and asks, "You want a carbonated beverage?"

"Sure."

Then he gets up and heads towards the kitchen door.

* * *

**Poor Ryou-kun! I felt bad making him break out into tears! Anyway, this chapter is important! It plays a part in the plot because next chapter things are going to happen! Okay, I guess in every chapter something happens but next chapter is going to be funnier than previous chapters i think! (Maybe?) Otogi-kun has problems with showing genuine emotions. I'm sorry if this doesn't settle well with some of you, but Otogi doesn't have the best home life (in the manga) and I feel that his shitty parent should affect him as a person. Ryou's a bit crazy. The reason why he's like that is up to the reader's interpretations. And Malik has been pretty much sane for the most part, but his time will come. mwaahahhahaha!  
**

**Please review? Maybe? No? Fine! Be that way... Thank you to all the people who have reviewed/followed/Favorited! I bet you guys are the type of people who save kittens and junk in your spare time!  
**


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